


Brotherly Love

by MissErikaCourt



Series: Superlocked [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-09 08:44:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4341827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissErikaCourt/pseuds/MissErikaCourt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock reaches out to Sam, Dean, and Molly for their help with a problem he believes he can solve on his own. Dean has just returned from Hell after being pulled out by Castiel, and is trying to deal with his own problems, including the impending apocalypse, while also trying to help Sherlock. Takes place one year after The Werewolf of Baskerville.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sam and Molly had taken to showering together to “save hot water”, but Dean didn't buy it. He hated when they did that. Since his brother had gotten married, Dean had taken to buying his own, separate, motel room. However, money was tight right now, and he hadn't been able to afford it. He couldn't really blame them for wanting a few minutes alone. Besides, they never made too much of a disturbance, except for a few delighted giggles from Molly every now and then. Dean decided that he could let this one thing slide. After all, they had gotten pretty used to being on their own. Dean had been gone for a long time. Six months he'd been in Hell. After the Hell hounds came for him, Sam and Molly did everything they could to save him, but it wasn't enough. The hounds dragged him into Hell, but someone else dragged him back out.

Castiel was odd, and he didn't fit in at all, and maybe that was why Dean became such fast friends with him. He was an angel, sent to rescue Dean, to keep him safe, and that was enough to gain at least a little Winchester loyalty. The only thing he wondered was who sent Cas in the first place. They had been searching for the answer to that particular question just last night, and to no avail. Dean silently cursed himself for following so many dead ends.

He was snapped out of his self hatred by the sound of his ring tone, jolting him back to reality. He picked up his phone and answered right as Molly walked out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a red plaid shirt, her brown hair wrapped in a towel.

“Hello.” Dean said, not recognizing the number that was calling him. Best not to give anything away before he knew who he was talking to.

“Dean Winchester.” A familiar English accent rang through the phone, and Dean couldn't help but smile a bit at the realization of who it was.

“Sherlock?” He asked, his pleasure bleeding through his tones. Molly immediately perked up and walked over to sit on the end of the bed Dean had been sitting on when he received the call. He put his phone on speaker so that Molly could hear what was being said as well.

“Yes, how are you? Well, I hope.” Sherlock said, and Molly could swear that she heard a hint of a smile in his voice.

“Sherlock, it's been a long time!” She said with a smile.

“Molly, it's nice to hear your voice.” Sherlock replied.

“So, uh, not to break up the happy reunion but...why exactly did you call?” Dean asked, butting into the conversation.

“I just thought I'd give you all a ring, to see how you're doing.”

“Out with it, Sherlock!” John's voice was muffled through the line, but Molly and Dean could tell that he was angry.

“Something you need to tell us, Sherlock?” Molly asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“It appears that my brother has been possessed by a demon.” Sherlock said quickly, almost too quickly for Molly to process what was being said. “I'm quite confident that I can fix the problem myself, but John insisted that I call. I told him you'd be much too busy to help with it.”

“Isn't your brother some important government guy?” Dean asked.

“He holds a small position in the British government, yes.” Sherlock answered, but the way he answered couldn't even have fooled Anderson. Those were the exact words that his brother always used to describe his position with the government, but everyone who worked closely with him knew that it was a lie. Mycroft was, arguably, one of _the_ most important people within the government. Sherlock couldn't imagine just how much trouble a demon with that amount of power over human lives could cause, and he didn't much care to find out.

“Sherlock, who exactly are you trying to fool?” Molly asked, a cross tone to her voice. “I think we both know just how powerful your brother is, and with a demon in control he's even more powerful than before. You need all the help you can get. I know you've done your research and you've been studying what we do, but you still need our help.”

“Molly, I'll have you know that I've taken down several supernatural creatures while you've been back in America.” Sherlock said in defiance.

“Like what?”

“John and I were on a case a few months ago, it seemed normal at first, but I quickly deduced that it was anything but. We arrived at a crime scene where there was a body, but absolutely no blood. Not a single drop of blood was left in the body that we found, and there was none at the scene of the crime. At first I thought that the victim was killed somewhere else and brought to the scene where she was found...”

“But you stumbled onto a vampire kill.” Dean finished and looked at Molly.

“Precisely. John and I had never hunted a vampire before, so we did our research. I knew every possible way to kill a vampire before we went looking for the one that killed our victim.”

“Sherlock, that was incredibly stupid. You should have just called. We could have told you the only way to kill them is to cut their heads off.” Molly scolded. She hated thinking about Sherlock being in danger, especially when she would have never known if something happened to him.

“Well, we figured it out, regardless. I only lost a small amount of blood before John finished the creature off. We really make quite the effective team.”

“If by effective you mean completely unprepared.” John's voice came through the phone again.

“Alright, Sherlock, we're coming to help you. Please don't make any more moves until we get there, okay?” Molly asked, putting a pleading tone into her voice. That always worked with Sherlock. She knew that, deep down, Sherlock just wanted to do whatever would make Molly happy, and that tone of voice always made him submit to her demands.

“Fine, how soon can you get here?” Sherlock asked over the phone before they heard another voice from behind them.

“Dean, we need to talk.” The thundering voice spooked them and Dean and Molly both jumped to their feet and turned to face their opponent. When Molly turned around, she saw an average height, dark haired, blue eyed man in a brown trench coat and an untailored suit standing by the door His tie was loose around his neck and he looked as if he'd recently been in some sort of struggle, but that was just how he always looked when they saw him. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized who it was. Castiel, the angel that had brought Dean back.

“Cas, you've gotta stop doing that, man!” Dean said in an exasperated tone as he realized they were still on their call with Sherlock.

“Molly, Dean, what's going on?” He asked, a bit of panic in his voice.

“Everything's fine.” Dean started. “A...friend just stopped by, they need our help with something tonight. We'll leave first thing in the morning, Sherlock, don't worry. We'll be there.”

“I look forward to our reunion.” Sherlock replied.

“Goodnight, Sherlock, I'll see you soon.” Molly said before Dean hung up the phone and they faced what Castiel had to tell them.

“I over heard your conversation with Sherlock Holmes.” Cas started, the same unaffected, somewhat bored, look on his face as he spoke. “I believe that you should help him. The demon that's possessing his brother may be a vital part of finding the demon that's responsible for breaking the seals.”

“You think this demon has something to do with that?” Dean asked as Sam, finally, walked out of the bathroom to join the others. His hair was still wet from the shower and he wore a plain black t-shirt with a pair of blue jeans. Molly smiled at him as he stopped by her side.

“What's going on?” He asked, surprised to see Castiel standing in their room.

“Sherlock needs our help. His brother has been possessed, and Cas seems to think that this demon could be our key to finding out how to keep me from going back to Hell.”

“That's great!” Sam said, without thinking about the part that didn't involve his brother being saved from Hell. “What do we do next?”

“I told Sherlock that we'd be heading out in the morning, so we should probably get some rest.” Dean said, looking back to where Cas stood before only to find that he'd moved about five feet and was now standing directly behind him. Dean jumped again. It was going to take a lot to get used to this guy hanging around all the time. “Damn it, Cas!”

“I can take you to London now. I know exactly where Sherlock Holmes resides, we can get to work a lot faster that way.” Cas answered, glancing at Molly and Sam, then suddenly his eyes were glowing blue. They blinked and they were all standing in the middle of Sherlock's sitting room. John Watson sat in his chair, a cup of tea poised at his lips, an expression of utter shock on his face.

“Sherlock.” He squeaked, drawing a ragged breath.

“What is it, John...?” He asked before walking into the sitting room from the kitchen and stopping dead in his tracks beside his friend. Cas was facing Sherlock, their eyes locked as they tried to figure each other out. Molly decided that she should probably break the silence before something bad happened. She stepped out from behind Castiel and stopped directly in front of Sherlock before smiling and pulling him into an embrace. He only hesitated for a moment before he awkwardly returned it.

“Sherlock, I'll explain everything to you in a moment. Right now, I'm just really happy to see you.” Molly said as she pulled away from their hug. Sherlock was still speechless, and his gaze kept shooting between her and Cas, so she decided she'd better explain before his brain short circuited. “Castiel is an angel. Remember how I told you about what happened to Dean?”

“Yes,” Sherlock said, regaining a bit of his cognitive function. “but it seems that he's well out of harm's way now. Did Castiel have anything to do with it?”

“Cas is the angel that pulled Dean out of Hell.”

“I've got the mark to prove it.” Dean said, pulling up the sleeve of his white t-shirt to show a large hand print on his upper left arm.

“Fascinating.” Sherlock said, pushing past Molly and Castiel and walked toward Dean to examine the mark. He took out the pocket magnifying glass that he always carried with him in order to further examine it, but Dean shied away.

“Hey, you've at least gotta buy me dinner first.” He said, a slight note of annoyance in his voice as he lowered his sleeve again. “I don't even get a hello and I'm already the subject in one of your experiments.”

“There is little time.” Cas said, turning to face Sherlock. “We need to act quickly if we're going to dispose of the threat.”

“Woah, Cas, we're not disposing of anything. We have to get this demon out without hurting Sherlock's brother.” Sam said quickly, trying to help Cas recover from such an insensitive comment.

“Do we? I hadn't thought about that.” Sherlock said, waving his hand as if to dismiss the thought.

“Sherlock, we're not going to let Mycroft die. I know you don't really mean that, he's your brother, for God's sake.” John said as he finally began to recover from the initial shock of the Winchester's arrival. “I know the two of you don't get on, but I also know that you don't want him dead.”

“Even then, we can't kill him if we're going to get anything from him.” Dean chimed in, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Do the three of you stand to gain something from this?” Sherlock asked, his curiosity piqued by Dean's statement.

“We might have forgotten to mention that there's this super powerful demon that's trying to break the 66 seals to start the apocalypse, and the demon inside your brother might know where we can find it.”

“Well, it's better that we can all gain something from this experience. Before now I just assumed we were wasting your time with something I could very well do on my own. Since you all need something from him, though, I don't feel as bad about John pushing the issue.”

“Sherlock.” John scowled from his chair. “I like the danger in being a consulting detective as much as you do, but dealing with supernatural creatures isn't exactly my cup of tea. We've almost died more times in the past two months than we ever have. I don't much care for it.”

“He's right, you two shouldn't be doing these things on your own. You don't have enough experience. One day you might run into something that you can't take down on your own.” Sam said, trying to be gentle with his words. He knew that Sherlock held his mental abilities to high standards, but he wasn't exactly known for his physical abilities, and that was something you definitely needed to do what he and his family did. “And don't forget, if you meet your end before your ten years are up, you're going straight into the pit early.”

“I hadn't really thought about it that way.” Sherlock said, his eyes shifting.

“No, Sherlock, you haven't thought about it _at all_.” John said, pushing himself to his feet and joining the rest of the group. “Honestly, I'd say that you're _more_ reckless with your life than you've ever been.”

“Not much of a reason to be careful when you know you're going to die regardless.”

“Sherlock, you can't think like that!” Molly pushed in, striding over and invading his personal space. “When the odds are against you, you don't just give up! You keep fighting until you can't do anything else, and sometimes even after that. Your life is a precious thing, how dare you just try to throw it away!” She yelled, wondering how he could be so reckless.

“I might as well do something good with the remainder of my life, no matter how much distress I've caused in the past. It may be dangerous, but at least I can die knowing that I was doing good, even if no one else sees it that way.” Sherlock rebutted and that pushed Molly over the edge. She balled her fist and took a swing at Sherlock, making contact with his jaw. She hadn't hit him hard enough to do any real damage, but she really needed to get her point across to him. He needed to know how upset she was with him.

Dean's eyes grew wide at what had just happened in front of him, but he had a bit of a smile on his face. Molly was behaving more and more like a Winchester every day. The little sister he never knew he wanted. Sam, on the other hand, moved quickly to her side, wrapping his arms around her to restrain her, making sure she didn't take another swing.

He understood why she would be so upset with Sherlock, though. In fact, he wasn't too happy with him, either. After all the time they'd spent together, he thought that Sherlock would have realized that one simple fact. Molly had said it best. Your life is precious, you can't just throw it away. Especially when you have work that you have to do.

Sherlock reeled for a moment, then shook his head slightly, as if to shake the pain in his jaw from his mind. He blinked a few times before he regarded Molly again.

“I'm sorry, Molly, I hadn't realized that I had other options.” He said in a genuine tone. He really did hate making Molly cross with him. He'd done enough of that before they'd met Sam and Dean, but it seemed that, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep from disappointing her.

“Listen, I think we're all a little tired. Traveling like that can really drain you, I think she just needs some rest.” Sam said, still holding onto Molly, although now it was more for her comfort than her restraint.

“Yes.” Sherlock answered, turning serious. “Sam, you and Molly can take my room. I believe Mrs. Hudson has a spare bedroom she can loan to Dean for the duration of your stay, I'll go speak with her.”

Sherlock was out of the room faster than Molly could even think of apologizing. She turned to bury her face in her husband's shoulder, embarrassed at her outburst. She'd only done what she did because it upset her so much to hear that Sherlock had basically given up. She shook her emotions away and pulled herself together, moving away from Sam and regarding John, who had just sat through the entire scene.

“I'm sorry John, things have been less than lovely for the last six months.” She apologized.

“Don't worry about it, Molly. The three of you go and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning.” John said with a smile, placing his hand gently on her shoulder before walking up the stairs to his bedroom.

“I'll wait here for Sherlock, you guys go get settled in.” Dean said, making himself comfortable on the sofa to wait for Sherlock's return. “I wanted to talk to him about something anyway.”

“Alright, Dean, we'll see you in the morning, then.” Molly said quietly as she took her husband's hand and lead him to where they would be staying.

“I'm needed elsewhere,” Cas said from the corner he'd taken residence in. “I'll be listening for your prayers, in case you need assistance.

“Yeah, sure Cas.” Dean said before Castiel disappeared. He only had to wait a few more minutes before Sherlock came back up the stairs, looking a little relieved that the sitting room had cleared out. He turned to face Dean almost immediately after walking into the room.

“So, how's your sentence coming?” Dean asked, kicking off his boots and putting his feet up on the coffee table that sat in front of the sofa.

“Seven and a half years and counting. I'm not sure that there's anything more miserable than waiting for your own death when you know it's coming.” Sherlock said as he walked over to sit on the other end of the sofa. “How was Hell?”

“Trust me man, you do not want to speed up your trip down under.” Dean said, trying to be vague with his answer. He didn't talk about Hell. He hadn't even told Sam about what had happened to him while he was there. The countless hours, days, months of torture. To Dean, it felt like he'd been in Hell for far longer than six months, to him it was like forty years. For half of his sentence, he'd been on the rack, being tortured every waking moment. After that, though, he was made an offer he couldn't refuse. Get off of the rack, but torture the others that hung there. In the end, his resolve hadn't been as strong as he would have liked. He tortured people without remorse until the day that Cas pulled him out.

“I suppose, since I never really accepted the possibility of Hell being a real place, it made it that much easier to brush it off.”

“Yeah, well, it's real. It's real and it's a shitty place to be. I don't blame Molly for taking a swing at you for being in a hurry to get there. She's seen what it did to me.”

“You don't seem all that different, Dean. Obviously a bit more worn than normal, but that could have just been your profession catching up to you, or your horrible eating habits. You haven't slept in days, though, judging by the darkness under your eyes. You have nightmares about it, don't you?”

“I hate it when you do that.” Dean said, raking his fingers through his hair. “Why is it so easy to hide this shit from everyone but you?”

“Because I see far too much for my own good, Dean.” Sherlock replied, glancing over to where Dean sat on the sofa. “Please, just tell me something, anything. So I can prepare myself for the inevitable.”

“No, because it's not gonna happen. We're gonna go save your brother and get some information from the asshole that high jacked his meat suit, and then we're going to kill the son of a bitch that holds my contract, and yours. We won't have to worry about it after that. So I'm not gonna tell you anything, because you don't need to prepare.”

“John often tells me that talking about what you're going through can help cope with it.” Sherlock said, averting his gaze. “I think he learned that from his therapist, but it also seems that he may be right. I don't often do this kind of thing, so I suppose what I'm trying to say is...I might understand a bit more about what you're going through than Sam and Molly. If you'd like to talk, I'm here to listen.”

Dean looked over at Sherlock, whose hands were clasped in his lap, eyes downcast, as if he was trying not to make accidental eye contact. He didn't think he'd ever seen Sherlock so vulnerable before, and it wasn't exactly something that he was good at himself. He didn't know how to respond.

“Uh, yeah...thanks. I'll keep that in mind.” He said, trying to brush off the uncomfortable subject. “Listen, I'm beat, do you think you can show me where I'm staying?”

“Of course.” Sherlock said, snapping out of the conversation just as quickly as Dean had. He pushed himself to his feet and Dean followed, walking down the stairs to the first floor where Mrs. Hudson's door was open and she sat on her sofa waiting for the two men.

“Oh, Sherlock, this must be the man you told me about.” She said, springing to her feet and walking over to meet them. “You didn't mention that he was so handsome.”

“I didn't think that would be relevant.” Sherlock said in an annoyed tone. Dean awkwardly smiled as the much older woman batted her eyes in his direction.

“You'll be staying in the room right over here, dear.” Mrs. Hudson said as she walked through the sitting room and turned on a light to a bedroom just beyond. “My room is just behind the two of you, just in case you wanted to know.

“Uh, thanks.” Dean said, feeling uncomfortable as he strode through the sitting room and stopped in front of the doorway. Mrs. Hudson stood squarely in the center of it, making it difficult for Dean to get past. She refused to move, so he had to squeeze past her, their bodies pressed closely together as he quickly went past.

“If you need anything, anything at all dear, I'll be just across this room.” Mrs. Hudson said with a smile as she turned to walk away. Dean glanced at Sherlock just in time to see a smirk before he headed back up the stairs and Dean closed and locked his door with the hopes that he wouldn't have any visitors in the middle of the night.

“Son of a bitch.” He said to himself before he shed his jeans and shirt and climbed into the bed to try and get some sort of rest before they had to start work on their new case in the morning.

 


	2. Chapter 2

When Dean woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see Mrs. Hudson hovering over him. He jumped back and pulled the blankets up a bit, as if to shield himself from prying eyes.

“Good morning, dear. I've made breakfast, I just need some help taking it all upstairs to the rest of them. Could you help me?” She asked, batting her eyes in his direction.

“Yeah, sure, just give me a minute to get dressed.” Dean answered, waiting for the older woman to leave the room.

“Don't worry, I'm not in a rush.” She said, firmly standing her ground. Dean gave her a look of exasperation and was about to get out of bed when he heard Sherlock calling for Mrs. Hudson from upstairs.

“It's urgent, Mrs. Hudson, I need you here immediately!” The muffled yells floated down the stairs and into the room that Dean was staying in and Mrs. Hudson huffed and scurried off to see what her tenant wanted. Dean quickly threw on the clothes he'd been wearing the day before, mostly because Castiel hadn't given them much time to pack anything before whisking them away, and then headed up the stairs to see what was happening. When Dean got to the door of Sherlock's flat he was surprised to see him quickly moving around the room, examining every inch of it.

“When was the last time you cleaned in here, Mrs. Hudson?” He asked, briefly stopping in front of the land lady to ask the question, then resuming his pacing and examining.

“Well, I suppose it was a few days ago. I dusted the mantle piece and things, I never know what to do with all of the things you leave lying about.” She answered, looking around the room.

“That settles it, then. Someone was here late last night when I went out for a walk to clear my head. John, Sam, Molly, did you hear anyone moving around in this room last night between the hours of two and four in the morning?” Sherlock questioned as Molly rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“I didn't hear anything Sherlock, but I was exhausted. Travel by angel really takes its toll. I passed out long before two in the morning.” She answered as she began to tie her unruly brown hair up into a loose bun.

“Same for me.” Sam said, looking to John.

“You know how I sleep, Sherlock. It takes gun fire to wake me up once I've gone to bed.” He answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “What makes you think someone was here, anyway?”

“When I came in at roughly four this morning, the knocker on the door was perfectly straight. John, you always close the front door with the knocker as you leave the building, causing it to hang crooked on the door. When I entered the sitting room I noticed that the skull that sits on the mantle piece had been turned to the right, instead of facing forward like I positioned it. These papers on the desk are also moved from the spot that I left them in last night.” Sherlock explained, walking around the room to point out the discrepancies.

“Why would someone break into the flat just to move things around a few inches?” John asked as he made his way to the kitchen to make some tea. Mrs. Hudson had lost interest and gone back to her flat to get the trays of breakfast that she'd made for everyone, stopping to swat at Dean's back side before she left.

“Because they wanted me to know that they were here. Someone that can get into the building, that knows how I behave when I'm thinking about a case. All they would have had to do was wait for me to leave, which they knew I would because of the current case. Once I was gone, they let themselves in and quietly rearranged my things.”

“Who would do something like that?” Molly asked, taking a seat in the gray leather chair that Sherlock called his.

“Because it was my brother. The demon inside him must know that I'm onto him. Whether or not he knows that I've called in the Winchesters is yet to be discovered.”

“How do you know it was Mycroft?” John asked, bringing the tray of freshly made tea into the sitting room and offering a cup to everyone. Dean grimaced at the brown liquid.

“I'm more of a coffee guy, myself.” He said before Sherlock went on.

“Because no one but Mycroft straightens the knocker on the front door when he leaves. I'm afraid that, even while possessed by a demon, my brother is still very anal about things like that. It drove him crazy while we lived in the same house as children. Although, most of the time I did leave a mess in my wake purely to antagonize him.”

“Do you think he's trying to send a message?” Dean asked, moving to the sofa to have a seat.

“Possibly. He wants me to know that he's been here, perhaps he knows that I've figured out he's a demon.”

“He's trying to scare you.” Molly said after taking a sip of her tea. “He knows that you know about him and he's trying to scare you into keeping quiet. If he was here last night, he must know that we're here to help you.”

“Why didn't he just kill you all while you slept, then?” Sherlock asked, not realizing how inappropriate that might have sounded.

“I think it's something we need to find out.”

“He didn't kill you because he wants to play with you.” Castiel's deep voice came from behind them all as he stood in the doorway. Everyone in the room jumped and John dropped his tea cup at the start he got from the sudden appearance.

“Bloody hell.” He said, gathering the broken pieces and shooting a dirty look toward the obviously oblivious angel.

“Cas, you've gotta stop doing that, man.” Dean said, shaking his head.

“I just thought you'd want to know of the demon's plan. He wants to play a game with you, Sherlock. He can access your brother's memories. He has full reign of everything your brother knows. He wants to see how far he can go, if he can outsmart you.” Cas explained, stepping into the sitting room a bit further.

“I see.” Sherlock said, steepling his hands under his chin and looking thoughtful for a few moments. “Well, this should be fairly easy, then. I always was better at deductions than Mycroft.”

“Didn't the two of you just get into a row about that recently?” John asked, giving Sherlock a sideways look. “You were cross with him because he figured something out before you did. You were being quite a knob about it.”

“I don't recall what you mean.” Sherlock said stubbornly, turning and walking to the window to peer outside. He knew as well as John did that what his friend was saying was the truth. Mycroft had outsmarted him, and he'd done it more than just once, but Sherlock surely wasn't going to admit that. “Regardless of that, I'm sure that I can win at whatever game this demon has in store. Just because he has my brother's memories and knowledge, doesn't mean he can utilize them to their full ability. The Holmes have a certain way of thinking.”

“Let's hope that you're right.” Sam said, leaning against the chair Molly was sitting in. “If you can't outsmart him, I think everyone else here is going to have a tough time with it.”

“Nonsense, Sam, you're quite brilliant. I can see why you were the one that went on to university.”

“Hey!” Dean said, offended.

“I mean no offense to you, of course.” Sherlock said, turning toward Dean's scowling face. “You just have skills in different areas. Now, back to more pressing matters. If he's going to be so vague about his game, we'll just have to figure it out for ourselves.”

“What are you doing?” Molly asked as Sherlock took his phone out of his pocket and typed out a message, then sat down on the edge of his desk to wait for a reply.

“I'm getting my brother's attention.” Sherlock answered as he placed his phone beside him on the desk. “If the demon controlling my brother wants a game, that's exactly what it will get.”

“What if he wants to hurt you?”

“I imagine that's exactly what he would like to do. However, he must be underestimating me, and the three of you. If he knows you're here and he still doesn't care, he must not know the Winchester reputation. There isn't a single supernatural creature that I don't have the utmost confidence in your ability to dispose of. So, I've arranged a bit of a meeting with him.”

“What are you going to do when you get there? You won't have any way to defend yourself.” John said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“That's why I'll be taking Molly with me. I may not be a seasoned demon hunter, but she is.”

“No. I don't like it.” Dean shot from the sofa, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. Mrs. Hudson came back into the room then, but only to leave the breakfasts that she'd prepared, she could tell the group was talking about something important. She left right after smiling at Dean, who scowled and tried to ignore her advances.

“Dean is right, Molly, you should stay in the safety of Sherlock's residence.” Castiel chimed in, which earned a sideways look from Sam.

“Dean, Molly can take care of herself.” He said, always willing to stand up for his wife. He knew how she felt about hunting. If she couldn't do everything the boys did she got upset. In her eyes, it wasn't fair for them to have to protect her all the time, so she simply didn't allow it. She'd become a hunter in her own right, and a damn good one at that, she could handle going to meet Mycroft with Sherlock.

“I know, but...I just don't think she should go.” Dean said again, shooting a knowing glance at his sister-in-law. She shot a look back at him, as if to try and stop him from exposing something, and Sherlock picked up on every little bit of it.

“There's something the three of you aren't telling us. That much is obvious, the question is: what is it?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at Molly who quickly looked away to avoid eye contact.

“Molly, what's going on?” Sam asked, placing a hand on her shoulder to turn her back toward him. She chewed at her lower lip and wrung her hands in her lap, both tell tale signs that she was nervous about something.

Sherlock kept his gaze locked on Molly, slowly figuring out what the mystery was. She looked tired, deep bags under her eyes indicated that much. The night before she kept insisting that it was because of the teleportation that Castiel performed, but Sherlock had a feeling it was something else. She'd gained a bit of weight since the last time he saw her, too low on her abdomen to be normal weight gain. She hadn't touched the breakfast that Mrs. Hudson had brought for her, either, but instead only sipped a cup of tea very slowly. She knew that he had it before the words even left his mouth.

“Molly, you're pregnant.” He said, and Sam's shocked gaze immediately fell on her, the rest of his body was completely frozen. Molly looked uncomfortable, and she had every reason to be. From the looks of it, she was at least three months along, and she hadn't bothered to tell her husband about it.

“Molly, did you know? Did Sherlock just...just deduce that I'm going to be a father before anyone else knew?” Sam questioned, his voice shaking.

“I assume she and your brother have both been very aware of her condition for quite some time. I'm fairly sure that your angel friend also knew of it. He's probably the one that told them.” Sherlock stated, and Molly and Dean both shot him glares that threatened to skewer him with intensity. Cas just stood by while the scene unfolded, seemingly unaffected.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Sam asked, now with a bit of hurt in his voice.

“I knew you would stop me from hunting, and probably from even traveling with the two of you. I didn't want that to happen. I was going to tell you, so that we could figure out what to do...” Molly explained, tears building in her eyes.

“You're right, I don't want you hunting, because I want our child to be safe.”

“I think we should wait to talk about this, Sam.” Molly urged, looking up at him for a moment. Then, Sherlock realized what she had meant before.  
“You...you don't want to keep it.” He said, pausing at first. He was just as shocked as Sam was when the words left him.

“What?” Sam asked, lowering himself to sit on the arm of Molly's chair. He was devastated at what Sherlock had said. The only thing he'd ever wanted in life was a family, but he'd given that up when he started hunting with Dean again. At least he thought he had, now it seemed like he was being given another chance, and his wife was opposed.

“Molly, how can you even think of doing something like that?” He asked, raking a hand through his hair, trying to find the words to express what he was going through.

“The kind of life we have...it's not right for children, Sam. You should know that better than anyone. How many times have you told me that you wanted to be normal? This life is anything but. Do you want your children growing up the way you did?” Molly argued, trying to explain herself.

“Sam, she's right, you know she is.” Dean said, pushing himself off of the sofa and sauntering toward his family.

“I would love to be an uncle, really, but I don't want this kid to be like us. If you're gonna have a family, you can't be a hunter.”

“I guess you're the one that convinced her of this?” Sam asked, a new anger in his voice. “You've always told me that I can't be normal. Even when I left for Stanford, you tried to get me to stay with you.”

“Maybe that would have been better, considering what happened.”

“Don't you dare say that!” Sam shouted, moving toward his brother, a ferocity in his voice that Sherlock had never heard before. It almost looked as if Sam was ready to take a swing at his brother.

“Sam, I'm just trying to look out for Molly and this kid. It's better for it to not have lived than to live through the kind of shit we live through. Could you imagine your daughter seeing you die in front of her? Seeing Molly die? Because those have both happened, Sam, who's to say they won't happen again?” Dean argued, trying to drive his point home. He didn't realize the information he'd let out until it was too late. Sam froze again, looking back and forth between Molly and his brother.

“Daughter?” He asked, all of the hatred gone from his voice.

“I'm fairly certain that the gender is female.” Cas said, breaking back into the conversation. “The child growing inside your wife will be one of the best hunters in the history of the world. Aborting her life would be a huge mistake for, not only you, but all of mankind.”

“Cas, you're looking at her as a weapon, I don't want my niece to be a weapon!” Dean yelled.

“I think Castiel is right.” Sherlock said quietly as all the Winchesters turned on him. Sam looked pleased, Molly and Dean did not. He decided he should probably explain himself rather quickly after that. “You should never keep a Winchester from entering the world. They do far more good than bad.”

“How did this even happen?” Sam asked, knowing very well that they'd been extremely safe every time they'd been intimate. They'd been trying to avoid a pregnancy, but that didn't mean that he wanted to get rid of it now that it was a reality.

“I don't know, I thought everything was fine. Cas said something about it before I even realized it and I just didn't know what to do.” Molly explained, tears still threatening to fall from her eyes.

“So, everyone knew before me.” Sam stated, the anger coming back to his tone.

“Technically you and I found out at the same time.” Sherlock said. He wasn't about to take any of the blame for this.

“Molly, I know that you're frightened of what might happen if you carry on with your pregnancy, but please realize that this might be what needs to happen.” Cas chimed in again, his crystal blue eyes piercing straight to Molly's core. “We're all well aware that the Winchesters are far more than everyone thinks. Sam and Dean have always had roles to play, and I believe your child will have one as well.”

“Are you trying to say she'll be the next messiah or something?” Molly asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed. This hadn't been how she'd planned on having this conversation. To be completely honest, she thought about not telling Sam at all and just going through with the abortion on her own. She hated that she'd even thought about it, but she also didn't want to raise a child in the life that she had now. Sam would be the perfect father in another life. If they hadn't met because a demon had whisked Molly and Sherlock to America because he wanted Sherlock's deductive skills. If they hadn't fallen in love because of what they'd been through in those few days together, but that _had_ been their story. Monster hunting was no life for a child. She wanted to have a family with him more than anything, but she also couldn't just stop being a hunter, none of them could. Her dream life wouldn't ever be a reality, but just being with Sam was enough for her.

“It's hard to say. You're child could be a prophet or perhaps a vessel like Sam and Dean are, but she _will_ have an important identity in the world.”

“Wait, what do you mean by the word _vessel_?” Sherlock asked, stopping the moment Molly and Castiel were having.

“We haven't exactly had time to tell you the whole story about what me and Sam have been dealing with.” Dean said, a look of exasperation on his face.

“Well, you could start now.”

“It's a long story.” Sam said, trying to delay the inevitable.

“Frankly, Winchesters, I'm growing tired of secrets. You really should learn to be more open with your friends.”

“Are you lecturing them on being open, Sherlock? You, of all people.” John chimed in, withdrawing from the trance like state he'd put himself in to try and shy away from the awkward conversation that had been happening.

“That's beside the point, John. I believe it's high time that we know the whole story, anyway. After all, the fate of the whole world lies in the balance, correct? The last time I checked, that's the planet on which we currently reside. So, Dean, continue.”

“We're kind of in the middle of something else here.” Sam said, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening.

“I'm sure there will be time for that later.” Sherlock said, then gestured for Dean to continue.

“Fine.” Dean said with a hefty eye roll. “I'm the vessel for Michael, an archangel who just happens to be the only damn archangel that can stop Lucifer. Guess who's vessel Sam is.”

“Sam is the vessel for Lucifer.” Sherlock said, his eyes wide.

“Yes, and they _will_ succumb to the angels wills. Angels can not possess a vessel without permission, but it's written in the scripture that they will submit. There will be a battle, and one of them will die.” Cas said, filling in the rest of the blanks for Sherlock.

“Sam, I don't believe you're capable of evil, so it comes as a shock to me that this would be your fate.”

“It comes as a shock to me that you're talking about fate.” John said, baffled by the new Sherlock that the Winchesters always seemed to bring out.

“John, these people apparently have books written about past events in their lives, do you think that fate doesn't have something to do with that? They are fated to play the roles that are written in the books, correct?”

“Yes.” Castiel answered, his eyes shifting a bit. He hated to confirm it, because he really had grown to love the Winchesters, and it didn't take long for it to happen. Molly was always so sweet, making sure that he had everything he needed, and Sam and Dean were some of the most fierce friends Cas had ever had, perhaps the _only_ friends he'd ever had. Admitting what would become of them hurt.

“Sherlock, I don't want to talk about this. Not now.” Molly said, her gaze falling to the floor as she clenched her fists in an effort to keep from crying.

“It seems that Molly and Sam have much to discuss. John, I recall urgent business at Scotland Yard, we mustn't keep them waiting any longer.” Sherlock said as he gathered his scarf and coat and threw John's things to him before seizing him by the arm and evacuating the building. Dean didn't even try to stop them.

“Molly, I want to keep her.” Sam said as Castiel and Dean looked on, listening to what the youngest Winchester had to say. “I know that our lives are crazy and hectic, but don't we deserve to be happy? I know you want kids, and I've always wanted to have a family. We can have what we want, we just have to let it happen.”

“You hated your father for what he put you through as a child. I can't bear the thought that our daughter might hate us when she's grown because of our life style.”

“I'm not my father. I can teach her everything I know without making her feel like it's her responsibility to save the world.” Sam rebutted.

“But what if it _is_?” Molly shot back. Sam hadn't thought about that. He and Dean hadn't realized that the fate of the world lay in their hands, but it did.

“Then she won't be alone. She'll have a supportive family, willing to do anything to make sure she's safe.”

“I don't know, Sam. I don't know if I can do this, knowing that she'll never have a real home. She'll never have friends because we never stay anywhere long enough to make them. She won't have a normal life.”

“Normal is over rated. If my life would have stayed normal, I would have never met you.” Sam said, reaching down to place his hand on Molly's face, his thumb gently rubbing her cheek. “I want to have this baby, Molly, because I know you'd be a wonderful mother, and I want the chance to prove that I won't be like my father. I want the chance to prove that our daughter can still have a good life. Please, let me prove it to you.”

“God damn it, Molly, I agree with him.” Dean said, throwing his hands in the air and letting them drop heavily to his sides.

“Fine, but only because I'm already pregnant and my hormones are controlling my brain.” Molly said, throwing her arms around Sam's neck and kissing him deeply.

“Excellent, I can already tell this will be a good decision. As Sherlock said, another Winchester in the world will not be a bad thing. This child will save more lives than any of you can imagine.” Castiel said with a hint of what someone might call a smile. Cas never actually smiled, but this was the closest he'd ever come. He made his whole speech in spite of the fact that Molly was too busy whispering things in Sam's ear that were making him blush and Dean was rolling his eyes as he sulked toward the sofa again. It wasn't too much longer before Molly was leading Sam back to Sherlock's bedroom and locking the door behind them. That morning would likely be the first, and last, time that Sherlock Holmes' bed ever saw anything but sleep.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The mood in 221B had drastically improved when Sherlock and John returned. Molly and Sam were cuddled together in Sherlock's chair, Molly sat in Sam's lap while his hand rested idly on her non-existent baby bump, and Dean was flipping through channels on the television, trying to find some mind numbing entertainment.

“I have got to get out of this place or I'm going to lose my mind.” He said angrily, tossing the remote aside.

“Perhaps you would like to accompany me to my meeting with my brother, then.” Sherlock said as he strolled through the door and stopped in front of Dean.

“He knows about us, remember? Won't that scare him off or something?”

“If he knows about you and Sam, he knows about Molly, too. Her going with me would have been just as big of a risk as you going with me.”

“Sam, keep your phone on. If I need you, I'll call.” Dean said before realizing that his brother wasn't paying any attention to him at all. “Sam!”

“What?” Sam asked, looking up from Molly to see a very angry looking Dean.

“You need to be ready to come and help if we need you.”

“We'll be at an Italian bistro down the street, owned by a friend of mine. It won't take five minutes to get there after we've called. I already sent the directions to your phone.” Sherlock explained.

“How do you guys plan on catching him?” Sam asked having switched into “hunter mode” as Molly liked to call it.

“I'm not entirely sure we'll be able to catch him this time.”

“Cas might have a way to do it.” Dean suggested hopefully.

“We won't know for sure that he can help until he appears again, and it seems you never quite know when that's going to happen.”

“You could always pray to him. He might be listening.” Molly suggested, toying with a strand of loose hair that had fallen from her pony tail.

“That doesn't actually work.” Sherlock scoffed, feeling sure of himself.

“Castiel, we need your help down here so...hope you've got your ears on.” Dean said and waited, his eyes moving around the room, hoping that Cas would actually be listening this time. Sometimes it seemed like he never heard him when it was important.

“What is it, Dean?” Cas' voice came from Dean's left side. When Dean looked at Sherlock, his mouth hung open in surprise. He snapped it shut quickly, as if he was hoping that no one had noticed his reaction.

“Can you use your heaven mojo to trap a demon without the use of devil's traps?” Dean asked, getting straight to the point.

“I'm afraid not, you'll have to find a way to get a devil's trap into the building. Once he's secured, though, I have a number of ways to dispose of him.”

“There's no way, Sherlock. Angelo can't just rush everyone out so that you can paint occult symbols on the ceilings, assuming you could ever convince him to let you do that.” Molly said, her tone a bit more harsh than she'd meant. She was a bit upset with Sherlock for just blurting out her secret earlier, but she had hoped she could keep that under control for the duration of the case. So far it was turning out to be rather difficult.

“We'll have to ensure a second meeting, then.” Sherlock replied, his gaze lingering on Molly for a split second before he let his eyes begin to wonder around the room. “If he wants to play a game, I'll insist that we have meetings every once in a while, to get a progress report.”

“A progress report?” John asked.

“He wants to test my skills, so it's only fair that I see how I'm doing throughout the course of the test. If any part of Mycroft is in control he won't be able to refuse an opportunity to scrutinize my performance. With any luck, he'll agree, and we can go back while Angelo's bistro is closed and put the necessary traps in place. Then all we'll have to do is rent the place out the next time we arrange to meet him. He'll be trapped as soon as he walks in the door, then we can get what we need from him.”

“Just be careful. You know how demons are.” Molly started, pushing herself off of Sam's lap to walk over to Sherlock.” The demon we encountered before was stronger than a lot of others, but you never know who's possessing him. Dean will be with you, so I know you'll be okay, just please don't do anything stupid.”

“Molly, I'm offended. I don't do stupid things.” Sherlock said, causing John to give him a look that said 'you're the king of bad decisions'. “You don't need to worry about me. As you said, Dean will be with me. One of the trio of the greatest hunters in the world can surely protect me from one demon.”

“It's time to go.” Cas said after Molly nodded her agreement at what Sherlock had said.

“Keep your phones on, just in case.” Dean said, looking around the room at Sam, Molly, and John. They all nodded and, before he could say anything else, Cas had grabbed his and Sherlock's arms and teleported them to the restaurant they were meeting Mycroft in.

“I'd suggest you don't do that here, people will catch on. We've just appeared out of thin air and exactly four people saw it happen and are now questioning their sanity.” Sherlock lectured Castiel as he flipped up the collar on his coat.

“We've talked about this, Cas, only appear in areas where other people won't notice.” Dean joined in, feeling a bit like a father lecturing his child. Castiel was so unused to the human world it was scary.

“Apologies, I sometimes forget that these things aren't commonplace here. You two go in, I'll stay outside. Don't worry, I'll be listening.” Cas answered, only looking a little scolded. After Cas took his place, Sherlock and Dean made their way inside and to the table that Sherlock had claimed as his own. The very same table that he and John sat at while they waited for the murderer to show up in the very first case they ever worked together. The feeling was much the same this time, Dean sat across the table from him, scanning the restaurant, looking for the person they were there to meet. There was focus behind his clear, green eyes, and determination to get rid of the threat to his friend. Angelo came by then, a wide smile spread across his face.

“Sherlock! So nice to see you again! It's been ages. I see the other one didn't work out.” He said, gesturing to Dean.

“What?” Dean asked, confused. “We're here meeting someone, it isn't like that.”

“Oh, an American this time. Well, to each his own” The portly man said with a chuckle. “I'll go and get a candle for the table. More romantic.”

“Please bring another chair, as well, we're expecting company.” Sherlock insisted. Angelo looked a bit upset, but carried out the request, and still brought a candle.

“I can't catch a break, it's either your land lady feeling me up or people thinking I'm gay with you.” Dean complained, slumping in his chair and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“You shouldn't let things like that get to you, Dean, they distract from your mental abilities.”

“My mental abilities are just fine.” Dean snapped back, as if he were offended. Sure, Sam had always had the reputation of being the “smart one”, but that didn't mean he was completely stupid.

“I'm only suggesting that you spend less time thinking about who you're going to bed next, and more thinking about the mission at hand.” Sherlock said, scanning the area for his brother. It was true, he could never hope to understand the bond that Sam and Dean had with each other, but he didn't want his brother to be trapped inside his own body for the rest of his life. He knew how that was, and he knew that it was horrible. Dean seemed like he couldn't focus on what was happening here, and that was what Sherlock needed him to do.

“Yeah yeah, I got it. Just let me stick to the hunting part and you can do all the talking.”

Sherlock was about to launch into some detailed explanation about all of the hunting he'd done while the Winchesters had been away when he heard the bell on the door ring, signifying that another customer had come into the restaurant. It had started raining outside of the cozy bistro, and Sherlock could hear the drops hitting an umbrella before it was taken down and the door closed. He turned to see his brother standing in the thresh hold, scanning the small restaurant for him. Their eyes met and a smirk spread across Mycroft's face as he began his long strides to the table. Ordinarily, Sherlock would have stood as his brother approached, but this wasn't his brother any more, and the thing inside him didn't deserve that common courtesy.

“Sherlock, I see you've brought a friend. Too worried to meet your own brother alone?” Mycroft said, the same smirk plastered across his face.

“I wouldn't be intimidated by my brother, no, but you aren't him.” Sherlock answered, his expression tight.

“I suppose that's true enough, although he does make a rather comfortable vessel, I must say.”

“Cut the chit chat, what is it that you want with him, exactly?” Dean asked, growing frustrated by the banter.

“I thought it would be fairly obvious what I want. Honestly, Sherlock, I really thought you would bring the smart one. Even Molly Hooper would have been a better pick than Dean Winchester.” Mycroft said, not really answering Dean's question, but still managing to make him furious.

“I don't have to sit here and listen to your shit. The reason I'm here is to kill you if you try anything, but honestly I'm just feeling kinda bored, so I might have to kill you anyway.” Dean threatened, keeping his voice low, but growling out his words in a way that would have scared just about anything into behaving.

“Oh, I see.” Mycroft smiled, eying Dean. “He's the security. Well, you won't be needing him, brother mine. I don't intend to kill you, I intend to take over the government. Possibly the world, eventually. As long as you stay out of my way, you and your friends will be completely fine.”

“I suppose you don't care about the innocent people you may have to kill.” Sherlock said, steepling his hands under his chin.

“The lives of most humans are pointless. I'll only be keeping the extraordinary ones. You, for instance, and your little friends the Winchesters, as long as they don't cause any trouble for me, Sam does have a rather large part to play in what's to come, after all. I might even consider keeping John around, even though he is an imbecile.”

“Too bad that end of the world shit won't be happening.” Dean said through gritted teeth at the thought of this demon thinking that Sam would willingly walk over to his side. “None of us are going to help you, or any other demon.”

“I think you'll be surprised to learn that at least one of you already is.” Mycroft said with a smile. Sherlock looked from Mycroft to Dean and could practically see the wheels turning in his head, puzzling out what Mycroft had said. He had to say something soon, or Dean would catch on to something else that his younger brother hadn't been telling him.

“Yes, well, how exactly do you plan to take over?” He asked, looking for anything to change the subject, to get Dean's mind off of a possible betrayal. Sherlock would look into that more himself, after this meeting was done.

“I was rather hoping that you would help me. As I said, you and your friends will be spared, in the end. All I want is control. Really, that's what Lucifer wants. Control of the world.”

“And you're working for him?” Dean asked, a knowing look coming over his face.

“Well, did you think that Lilith was the only little minion he had running about, trying to start the apocalypse? No, there are others, myself being one of the most powerful. I'm sure you know everything that Lucifer wants by now. World domination, extinction of humans...you get the idea.”

“Yeah, that's exactly why we've been trying to stop him.”

“I'm afraid you won't be able to do that, but you and your little family can just keep trying. You might even manage to help us without knowing it. You do seem to do that often.”

“You want me to help you with a plan to raise Lucifer.” Sherlock started, eying the form of his brother, wondering what the demon inside him looked like. “What do I get if I help you?”

“You can't be serious!” Dean shouted, causing several other patrons of the restaurant to turn and look at their table. Sherlock just looked at him for a moment, then turned his attention back to Mycroft.

“You won't die, for starters. Have you been listening to a word I've said, Sherlock? You and your friends will be allowed to continue living in the new world once Lucifer is risen, isn't that reward enough?”

“I want a notable position in the presumed monarchy that will be set in place after the take over if you expect any help from me at all.” Sherlock said stubbornly. Dean just sat there, his mouth hanging open, trying to fathom why Sherlock would even think about helping a demon.

“I'm sure I can get that for you.” Mycroft answered.

“Excellent. I accept.” Sherlock agreed.

“What?!” Dean shouted again, even louder than the first time. “What the hell are you thinking?”

“He's my brother, Dean, surely you would understand that logic.” Sherlock said before turning back to Mycroft. “Please inform me when we can meet again to further discuss plans.”

“I'm overjoyed to have you aboard, Sherlock.” Mycroft said with a devilish smile before pushing himself from his seat and moving to the door. He put up his ever present umbrella as soon as he exited the restaurant and walked down the street until Dean could no longer see him through the bustle of people and traffic.

“What the hell are you thinking? Do you know how big of a betrayal this is? Sherlock, we came here to help you!” Dean exclaimed, pure horror seeping from him. Castiel suddenly appeared beside Dean, a stoney look plastered on his face.

“Explain yourself.” He said in his deep, terrifying voice.

“If you'll give me time, I'll explain once we've returned to Baker Street. I'm sure there are spies lurking everywhere, but we'll be safe there.” Sherlock said with unwavering focus.

“You better have a damn good explanation, Sherlock, because we'll never forgive you if you've turned on us.” Dean said referencing Cas and his brother and sister back in 221B.

“I assure you, Dean, if there's one thing I will never do in this life time, it's turn my back on the Winchesters.” Sherlock said very quietly, as if to avoid being overheard. “They've been far too kind to me for that. My brother, however, needs to be taught a lesson about family.”

 

oOo

 

The return to Baker Street had been quiet right up until the moment that Dean burst through the door to 221B, interrupting the nap Molly and Sam had been enjoying together on the sofa. Sam jumped up, carefully placing Molly on the sofa behind him before readying himself for a battle, only to realize that the danger had only been his brother throwing some kind of fit.

“Dean, what's going on?” He asked as he lowered his guard. Molly had been taken completely by surprise and was still recovering from her abrupt awakening.

“I'll tell you what's going on! This idiot told Mycroft that he would help him take over the world!” Dean shouted, causing John to come rushing down the stairs from his room just as Sherlock and Castiel walked into the sitting room

“What's happened?” John asked, noting the angry look on Dean's face and the confused ones on Molly and Sam's.

“Mycroft wants to take over the world via the British government. He also wants Sherlock to help out. I thought that Sherlock would say 'absolutely not', but I'll be damned if he didn't bargain for a better fucking seat in the dictatorship when it's all over!” Dean ranted, pacing the floor as he spoke.

“Sherlock, is this true?” Molly asked, leaving her place on the couch to move a bit closer to everyone else, assured that there wasn't any actual danger in the room.

“I did say all of those things to my brother, yes, but that doesn't mean that I meant any of them. Dean, you once told me not to believe anything that a demon says to you. Perhaps they should learn not to believe the information that we give them, as well.” Sherlock explained, causing Dean to temporarily stop his pacing.

“You lied to the demon.” Sam said, his eyes going wide for a moment. “And he didn't pick up on it?”

“I didn't see any indication that he had. He seemed rather pleased with what I'd told him, actually, and even texted me with information on where to meet him next while we were on the way back here. Next time I won't take anyone with me, besides Castiel, if that would be acceptable.”

“I'm willing to help as much as possible.” Cas answered from his place behind Sherlock. Dean scowled and crossed his arms in front of his chest, perhaps a little jealous that Cas had become so interested in Sherlock.

“Excellent. It seems this plan may just work. I can only imagine that my brother, if he was able to observe my meeting with the demon wearing his body, has caught onto the plan and will be doing everything in his power to keep the demon going where I want it to go.”

“Are you sure this will work, Sherlock?” Molly asked, trying not to sound too worried. Demons were tricky things to deal with, they could never know if the demon inside Mycroft was actually falling for their plan or not. They may never know, until it's too late.

“Castiel has offered me his protection. You trust him, don't you?” Sherlock asked.

“I trust Cas, but you can ward against him. All it takes is a few scribbles in blood and Cas will be sent screaming away from wherever you may be, whatever trouble you may be in. I think you need more training, if you're going to go into something like this alone.”

“Training?” John questioned.

“I want to teach Sherlock about demons, how to kill them, how to stay ahead of them. He's not going into another meeting until he knows more about how to protect himself.” Molly said with an unwavering confidence.

“I believe that's a good idea. Molly is right, I may not be able to protect you completely, you need to know how to handle yourself if I'm disposed of.” Cas chimed in.

“Well, I suppose we have a lot to get through tonight, then. Mycroft wants to meet me tomorrow at the Diogenes Club.”

“We'd better get started.” Sam said, bending down to retrieve his laptop from a bag beside the sofa and opening it to find the file with everything they knew about demons.

“This'll help too.” Dean said, throwing their father's journal toward Sam, who caught it expertly and handed it to his wife, who flipped to the section about demons.

“You're always so willing to learn helpful new things. If this is the life you want to live now, these are the kinds of helpful things you'll need to learn. Better delete a few things from your mind palace, Sherlock.” Molly said as she moved the book toward him. There had to be a good thirty to fifty pages bookmarked specifically under the demon section, not to mention what Sam had on his computer. “You've got a lot of information to soak up in the next twelve hours.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

Sam and the others had thrown in the towel for the night, leaving only Molly and Sherlock to keep studying. It was the perfect opportunity to ask about what Mycroft had said earlier. Sherlock had known from the moment the Winchesters appeared in his sitting room that something was different about Sam, and now he believed he knew what it was.

“Molly, can I ask you about something that's been troubling me?” He asked, daring a glance at Molly. She was too busy skimming over another file on Sam's computer to have caught the look.

“Sure, anything at all.” She agreed, never looking up from the screen.

“What is Sam doing that's making him different? He seems strange since you've returned.”

Molly froze for a moment, then looked up to meet Sherlock's eyes.

“Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

“Mycroft said something about one of the three of you keeping a secret, I want to know what it is.”

“Has Dean figured it out?”

“He seemed to have suspicions, but none that he mentioned aloud.”

“Sherlock, you can't tell Sam that you know any of this.” Molly said with a sigh.

“Fine.” Sherlock agreed, eager to hear what Molly had to say.

“Since Dean was in Hell, Sam looked for any way to find information about him. He tried to make a deal for his soul, but it was no good. One day a demon named Ruby came to us. She said she could help...said that she knew exactly what we needed to do to become strong enough to get him back.” Molly looked down, as if she were ashamed about what she was about to say. “I tried to talk him out of doing it, Sherlock, but you know how Sam and Dean are...”

“What has Sam been doing?”

“Sam has had visions, for a long time. Azazel is the one that gave them to him because Sam is supposed to be a weapon.”

“He's the vessel for Lucifer.” Sherlock said, reciting what he had learned from a different conversation.

“Yes. Sam is determined that he won't do it, and Ruby told us that she can help him stop Lilith, the demon that's opening the seals, by drinking demon blood.”

“What does it do exactly?”

“It started with visions, but now he can do other things. Once when Dean was in trouble, he moved objects with his mind to clear his path to save him. Now he can exorcise demons with just the power of his mind.”

“And he can't do this without the blood?”

“No, if he stops for very long he loses the ability to do that. Ruby keeps telling him that if he drinks enough, he'll be able to kill demons, permanently. They don't just go back to Hell, they stay gone forever.”

“I assume this comes at a cost.” Sherlock said, knowing there had to be some sort of draw back.

“He can really hurt himself when he uses his powers. He gets so weak, and then he has to go right back to Ruby to get his strength back.”

“This is obviously another reason why you were thinking of getting rid of the baby.”

“Yes, I just don't know what's going to happen. I'm so scared that something's going to go wrong and Sam's going to...” Molly stopped, the thought of what she was about to say made her feel ill.

“That's an understandable fear.” Sherlock said, thinking for a moment. He hated seeing Molly in such a fragile emotional state. He thought nothing had been worse than when she was infatuated with him. He constantly drug her emotions through the dirt and used her feelings for him to get what he wanted. He had thought that being with Sam would be good for Molly, but now it seemed like it might have been even more taxing on her well being. “Molly, Sam can't do this on his own, and neither can you. If you're going to convince him to stop, you're going to need all the help you can get. What happens when Dean finds out? The longer you wait, the worse that's going to be. Tell him now. Tell him how worried you are for his brother, your husband. Something has to be done.”

“If I tell Dean, Sam will never forgive me.” Molly said softly, tears forming in her eyes. This was the struggle she'd been dealing with since Dean got back. Then, on top of that, she'd had to hide her pregnancy. It was taxing keeping two different secrets, and from two of the people that she loved most in the world.

“Sam loves you. He'll always forgive you. Dean, on the other hand, is less forgiving. Possibly less forgiving now than he has ever been. He's changed since his time in Hell. The longer you wait to tell him a secret like this, the worse the backlash will be. Let's both go down stairs and tell him now so that we can get this sorted. All we'll have to do is keep Ruby from contacting Sam, that should be easy enough once we have everyone on board.”

“This feels wrong.” Molly said, wrapping her arms around herself as if she were trying to keep out the cold. “I feel like I'm betraying him doing this.”

“Sometimes the right thing doesn't always feel right.” Sherlock said, surprising himself a little at the wisdom behind those words. He knew all too well what they meant. Giving Molly up to Sam had been the right thing to do, but he still struggled with it daily, wondering what could have been between them if he'd put in the effort. Regardless, the sentiment seemed to help Molly through what she was thinking and she nodded curtly.

“Let's go talk to Dean.” She said, pushing herself from the chair she'd been seated in and checking the time. It was late, but she knew Dean would still be awake, he didn't sleep much since his return from Hell. Sherlock and Molly walked down the stairs together and into Mrs. Hudson's flat where they found Dean in the sitting room, flipping through the channels on the television.

“Hey, what are you guys doing down here? Did you finish studying already?” Dean asked, raking his fingers through his short hair. His eyes looked tired, but they always looked that way these days, as if he were fighting against sleep.

“Not quite. We've been talking and...I think there's something I need to tell you.” Molly stammered, struggling with what she was about to do. Dean suddenly turned serious, the look on his face reflecting every feeling churning inside Molly's stomach. Fear happened to be the most evident.

“What is it?” Dean asked, moving forward to the edge of his seat as Molly and Sherlock entered the room. Molly sat down on the sofa beside Dean and he got even more nervous.

“You remember how Sam promised you that he wouldn't use his powers anymore, right?”

“Yeah, he said he wouldn't use them to help bring me back, and he didn't. Cas pulled me out.”

“Well, yes, but that's not all that he can use his powers for.”

“He's still using them, isn't he?” Dean asked, his demeanor immediately turning darker.

“Dean, it's taken a lot of courage for Molly to come here and talk to you about this. What she's going to say might be shocking, but we agreed that you needed to know in order to help Sam overcome what's happening. So please, don't get angry and lash out, just listen and do everything you can to help, when the time comes.” Sherlock said, preparing Dean, and possibly making him more anxious for what Molly was about to say.

“Spit it out, Molls, what's wrong with Sammy?” Dean asked, using the nickname for his baby brother that he only used when he wanted to show that he really cared.

“Sam has been honing his powers because someone convinced him that he can use them to stop the 66 seals from breaking.”

“Who?”

“Her name is Ruby...she's a crossroads demon.” Molly said. Dean's eyes lit up with fury at that statement, but he suppressed it so she could finish.

“She told him that he had to make his powers stronger by drinking demon blood. So far it seems like it's been working, but it comes at a cost. It's like a drug, the more he drinks the more he wants. He's been meeting her every now and then to practice his new powers, but I don't think it's good for him.”

“Of course it isn't! He's drinking blood! I told him to stop using his powers and this is what he does?”

“He thinks it's the only way to stop what's supposed to happen. Ruby has been very convincing. He made me promise not to tell you, I don't even feel right about doing it right now, but he needs our help.”

“He needs a swift kick in the ass! Wait until Bobby hears about this.”

“No, Dean...” Molly started, but was cut off.

“No my ass, Molly! He's going to kill himself and you think I'm not gonna tell Bobby what's going on? You know as well as I do that he's more of a father to us than Dad ever was. If something is going on with Sam, he deserves to know.” Dean said, rage in his eyes. He wasn't so much mad as he was disappointed, and hurt. He couldn't believe that Sam would stoop so low. “And as soon as I'm finished talking to Bobby, I'm going up there and waking sleeping beauty to give him a piece of my mind.”

“Dean, let's just be logical about this.” Sherlock said, trying to get the situation back under control. He should have known that Dean would blow a gasket after learning this new information, he just thought he might be able to talk him down. “Sam won't respond well to you trying to control him. It would be much better if you talked to him calmly.”

“There ain't a calm bone in my body right now, Sherlock. He's getting what's coming to him.” Dean said, taking out his phone and dialing the number he knew belonged to Bobby. He didn't know the time difference, but he did know that Bobby would pick up.

“Why are you calling me at 5:30 in the morning, boy?” Bobby's gruff voice carried over the phone and Dean couldn't help but smile, if only for a second, then it was time to get back to business.

“Bobby, something's up with Sammy.” He said in his most serious tone, then placed the phone on speaker so that everyone in the room could hear the conversation.

“Well, hurry up and explain, I ain't got all day.”

“Molly says he's still been using those creepy ass powers he has, and now he's drinking demon blood to heighten them.” Dean explained, a little afraid of what Bobby would have to say. What if he wanted to get rid of Sam? Dean didn't think he could do that.

“Is Molly there?”

“I'm here, Bobby.” Molly answered to the older man, whom she also had begun to see as a father.

“What the hell are you thinking letting that boy do this to himself?” Bobby asked, more disappointment than anything coming through in his voice.

“I tried to stop him, Bobby, he just won't listen to me. He thinks he's doing the right thing.”

“I'm sure he does, I'm just not sure how he thinks that drinking demon blood is the right thing. Haven't you tried smacking some sense into him yet?”

“He's also in league with a demon.” Sherlock said, forgetting that he hadn't even been properly introduced to Bobby.

“Who the hell was that?” Bobby asked.

“That's Sherlock, Bobby. We're actually in London right now helping him out with something. He's a consulting detective, and he's one of Molly's good friends.”

“That the one you helped out with that shifter?”

“Sure is.” Dean answered without a second thought.

“Nice to make your acquaintance.” Sherlock proceeded. “So, what is your expert opinion on what should be done about our problem? Molly and Dean say you know more about this than anyone else.”

“I don't know much of anything about drinkin' demon blood or telekinesis, or anything that Sam's been doing recently. I just know it ain't good, and it ain't right.” Bobby answered, pain evident in his voice over not being able to help Sam. “You said he's working with a demon?”

“Yes, her name is Ruby. I thought you might be able to dig something up on her, Bobby.” Molly answered, hoping that something positive would come of her telling everyone her husband's secret. “She's a crossroads demon, so you should be able to summon her.”

“Well what are we waiting for? We can do it here and take her out ourselves.” Dean said, a sudden confidence in his voice.

“She knows who I am, and if she sees me, she'll know it's a trap. I haven't liked her from day one. Besides the fact that she's a demon, something makes me uneasy about her.”

“You think Sam finds her attractive, and you know that he can't control himself well when he's under the influence of the blood. You think he'll betray your vows to each other and do something with her that you wouldn't approve of.” Sherlock deduced, and Molly looked to the floor, a red blush creeping over her features.

“If he's not himself, that could be a possibility, but I'm pretty sure that, now that he knows he has a baby on the way, he won't do anything like that.” Dean answered without thinking.

“What the hell did you just say?” Bobby's shocked voice came through the phone and every one of them fell silent. Molly hadn't told anyone but Dean, and Cas just knew because of what he was.

“Molly is pregnant, Bobby.” Dean said cautiously, trying to think of the right way to word what he was going to say next.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Bobby asked, his tone suddenly turning softer. Molly spoke before Dean had the chance.

“I didn't even tell Sam until yesterday, Bobby. To be honest, I wasn't going to tell anyone. I was just going to get rid of it. Our jobs are so demanding, and dangerous. How can I raise a child like that?” Molly tried to explain, hoping that he would understand what she was feeling. “Sherlock figured it out and said something in front of Sam, that's the only reason I changed my mind. Dean and Cas knew because Cas blurted it out one day while Sam went on a food run. I didn't mean to keep anything from you, Bobby, I just didn't think it was going to come to fruition.”

“It's okay, darlin'. I understand what you must have been going through. I can't tell you how many times I would have pulled these boys out of hunting, if I would have had the power to do it. We'll make sure the kid is taken care of, it'll be family, and that means it'll be protected.” Bobby said. Molly was shocked at the understanding from the rough old hunter that she'd grown to love.

“Bobby...” She started, barely audible from the shaking in her voice. Her eyes filled with tears as she choked out the rest of her sentence. “Thank you.”

“Don't mention it. You can thank me when we save your husband so that he can be around for this kid. I'll take care of this Ruby, you finish what you're doing there and get home.”

“Will do Bobby.” Dean said, looking at Molly and Sherlock. “Be careful.”

“Ain't I always?” Bobby asked, slightly offended, before he hung up the phone.

“Now, I'm gonna go have a little talk with my baby brother.” Dean said, throwing his phone down on the sofa and storming out of the room, taking the stairs up to Sherlock's flat two at a time. When he reached the kitchen door, he immediately went in and turned down the hallway, stalking up to the door of Sherlock's room, where Sam and Molly slept, and barging in without even thinking about knocking. He grabbed his brother's shoulder and shook him violently, jolting him awake with a terrified look plastered on his face.

“Dean? What the hell?” He asked, right before Dean yanked him out of the bed and punched him square in the jaw. This is where Molly would tell him to use his words, if she wasn't still trying to catch up to him. Sam fell back onto the bed, his hand moving to the sore spot on his jaw just as Dean grabbed him again, by the collar of his plain white shirt, and hoisted him back to his feet.

“Sam, you're gonna stop what you're doing, and you're gonna stop it now.” Dean growled as Sam tried to get some distance between himself and his angered brother. He pushed against Dean's arms, but he wasn't budging. Molly ran into the room just then, with Sherlock trailing behind her.

“Dean, stop!” She shouted, running up to them and trying to pry the eldest Winchester's grip off of her husband.

“What the hell is going on?” Sam asked again as Dean let go of his collar, then pushed him back down onto the bed. Molly noticed the red spot on Sam's jaw as he sat staring at his brother.

“I don't know, Sam. Why don't you tell me? What would I be so upset about?” Dean asked, trying to force Sam to admit what he was doing on his own. Molly edged in to sit on the bed beside her husband, eager to examine his jaw where Dean had hit him. Sam stayed silent the whole time his brother stared at him, not wanting to admit to something that Dean didn't actually know.

“How about your freaky powers, Sam? Anything you wanna tell me about that? Remember how you promised not to use them any more?” Dean asked, and Sam's gaze immediately fell on Molly, who was looking down at her lap, wringing her hands. She couldn't bring herself to look at him because she knew the look of disappointment that would show there.

“I don't know what you're talking about, Dean.” Sam protested, still committed to playing dumb.

“Don't even try that shit with me, Sam. Molly told me everything, she's worried about you. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

“I'm doing it to stop the shit from hitting the fan!” Sam yelled, his frustration finally coming to the surface. Why couldn't Dean just understand? Of course he didn't necessarily want to do what he was doing, but it was the only way to save the world, at least that's what Ruby said. He still wasn't entirely sure if he could trust her, but he didn't see much of a choice. She was right about one thing, the blood was definitely making him stronger. He was able to exorcise demons with his mind, which really came in handy when the only other way to do it was a long incantation.

“How's that working so far? We've got a demon here that's trying to take over the world via Sherlock's brother, and who knows how many demons back home wreaking havoc. Bobby is doing all he can, but he needs us back there. If you keep up what you're doing, you're not going to make it back!”

“Sam, Dean is right. You can't keep doing this. I can tell that you're already getting weak from not having any blood for the time that we've spent here. I guess you haven't been able to reach Ruby.” Molly chimed in, trying to keep her tone placid, but her emotions were raging. Sam only looked at her for a long moment, then let his gaze trail off, as if he were ashamed to admit that what she had said was true. “I know it's hard, but we'll just have to find another way to stop all this. Don't you want to be around for your daughter?”

“Of course I do.” Sam replied, his gaze flashing back up to Molly. She knew he was telling the truth just by looking at him. “I just want her to have a world to live in.”

“We'll find another way, Sam.” Dean said, having calmed down from his previous episode.

“I know I'm not usually of much help with these types of things, but if there's anything I can do...” Sherlock said with a small, sad smile. Molly smiled back at him.

“Fine, I'll stop drinking the blood, but you're gonna have to let me keep using my powers. Exorcisms go a lot smoother that way, and we need all the help we can get here.” Sam said, a strength behind his voice that wasn't there before. Everyone could tell that he wouldn't budge on his negotiations.

“I don't like it, Sammy, but if that's what it takes to get us back home faster I'll let it slide. Once this case is over, though, no more, do you hear me?” Dean said, using his big brother voice.

“Yeah Dean, fine. Just let me go back to sleep, we've got a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Fine, I'll see you bright and early.” Dean said right before he gave Molly a small nod and patted Sherlock on the shoulder as he walked through the door.

“I'll see the two of you in the morning.” Sherlock said before reaching for the door knob and pulling the door closed behind him as he left the room. Molly had been dreading this exact moment ever since Sherlock convinced her to talk to Dean about the problem. She was alone with Sam after telling the secret that she'd sworn not to tell anyone, and he wouldn't stop staring. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and spoke out.

“Sam, I'm sorry, I just didn't know what else to do. I was so worried about you and what you were doing, it was driving me insane. That and the fact that we're going to have a baby...I was just worried that you would do something to get yourself hurt or...” She trailed off, not wanting to say the word that was on her mind. “I know you'll probably never forgive me, but please just try to understand.”

“Molly.” Sam spoke her name as gently as he ever had instead of with the rage that she assumed would be present in his voice. He placed two fingers under her chin and raised it until she was looking right into his eyes. “I forgive you. I understand. You wouldn't have done it if you didn't love me. I just wish you would have talked to me about it.”

“I was just scared, and Ruby she just...she worries me.” Molly said, shifting her eyes to the right as to not meet Sam's gaze for a moment. She didn't want to come out and say that she thought that Ruby might have seduced him, who knows if he would even be physically able to stop her while he was drinking her blood, but she couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

“I don't trust her either.” Sam said, rubbing his thumb up and down her jaw line. “She just seemed like a necessary evil.”

“What exactly did you do while you were with her?”

“It's all kind of a blur, really. I don't ever remember much of what happens while I'm with her, I think the blood just has a weird effect on me, like a drug. I just remember getting there, she cuts her arm, puts it to my mouth, and then nothing.”

“Are you sure you don't remember anything? She never tried to get you to do anything else with her?” Molly asked timidly. She didn't want to accuse him, but she had to know. If Sherlock had picked up on her suspicions and brought it up, there must be some merit to her thinking about it.

“Molly, what are you asking?”

“I just...she seems a little too friendly...I just want to make sure that nothing has happened that you might regret.”

“Are you asking if I cheated on you?”

“If you did...I wouldn't blame you, you can't really control yourself when you're with her...I would just feel better if I knew what was happening.”

“How could you ever think that I would do something like that?”

“ _You_ wouldn't, but I don't know what happens when you're drunk on demon blood. You could be a whole different person. You kind of are, from what I've seen. All those times you used your powers to take down demons while Dean was away...it looked like you enjoyed it, like it made you happy to be killing them.”

“They're evil, Molly, why wouldn't it make me happy to get rid of something evil?”

“That's not what I mean, Sam. You genuinely enjoy killing, and that's not something that used to happen. This isn't good for you, please just stop.” Molly pleaded, a single tear rolled down her cheek before she wiped it away as quickly as it had appeared. Sam took a deep breath, a look of understanding on his face.

“Alright, Molly, I'll do it for you. Like I told Dean, I'll finish out this case and stop using them. I promise. And you don't need to worry about Ruby, there's a reason I married you. I haven't done anything besides drink her blood, and I won't do anything with her every again.” He said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. She nodded and pushed herself from the bed, then gathered her night clothes and quickly changed. She climbed into the bed with her husband and it was as if all the stress of the day, and the very long night, melted away as he wrapped his arms around her. She felt content, but she still wasn't entirely sure that they'd seen the end of Sam's problem. That was a bridge they'd have to cross when they got to it, because Molly's eyes were drifting shut before she could stop them, and she fell into a deep sleep.

 


End file.
